In Brief
- Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called on Israel and Hezbollah to respect the ceasefire.
- It comes after Israel said it carried out its largest wave of strikes on Lebanon since the war began.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called for an immediate end to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, warning that ongoing fighting threatens a "fragile" ceasefire between Iran and the United States — and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Wong's comments come after Israel said it carried out its largest wave of strikes on Lebanon since the start of the war, killing at least 250 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The attacks followed Iran's agreement on Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire with the US and Israel, which was intended to reopen the strait for oil trade.
Iran says Lebanon was included in that deal, while the US and Israel say Lebanon was never part of the agreement.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia "firmly believes" Lebanon should be included in the ceasefire.
"We want to see peace in this region and it will make a difference and I know that many Australians are concerned about the events that are occurring in Lebanon," he said in a press conference on Thursday morning.
The latest attacks have prompted fears that the strait may now be closed again in response to the strikes. The ABC is reporting that despite the ceasefire, shipping in the strait remains largely at a standstill. It said a very small number of ships had gone through the strait.
Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the US had violated three clauses of the ceasefire agreement, including by attacking Lebanon, while foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said: "the ball is in the US court".
Wong said the ceasefire was "fragile" and called for Israel and Hezbollah to respect it, while also emphasising the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
"The ceasefire is fragile, but the world needs it to hold," Wong told ABC News Breakfast on Thursday morning.
"In relation to Lebanon, we've said the ceasefire should be respected by both Israel and Hezbollah. There is a risk that continued conflict in Lebanon will risk the ceasefire itself across the region.
"We want to see the Strait of Hormuz open so that Australians and the world can see lower prices for fuel."
In a joint statement with the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Jordan, Brazil, Colombia and Sierra Leone, Wong called for an urgent end to the fighting, describing the overnight attacks as "deeply concerning".
Wong doesn't have 'confidence' Strait of Hormuz is open
However, Wong repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether the strait was currently open or closed on Thursday morning.
When asked directly on Channel Nine's Today Show, she said there were "conflicting reports" and "commercial shipping needs the confidence for it to be open for them to go through".
At a subsequent doorstop interview, she again declined to give a clear answer, saying the "situation is still very fluid".
"What I would say is that what commercial shipping needs is confidence, and as yet, we don't have that confidence. We want that confidence. We want the Strait open so fuel can flow."
It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travels to Singapore on Thursday — one of Australia's largest fuel suppliers — to meet with the country's prime minister and discuss fuel supplies.
Opposition says Trump threats were meant to 'de-escalate'
Opposition defence spokesperson James Paterson said Donald Trump's warning that a "whole civilisation will die" unless the strait was reopened was ultimately aimed at ending the conflict.
"Speaking about it analytically and dispassionately, it’s clear that the US president has been threatening to escalate in order to de-escalate. And it may be the reason that there is a ceasefire agreement, although a very shaky one," Paterson told ABC Radio National.
Paterson said he was "reluctant" to accept Iran's claim that Lebanon was covered by the ceasefire deal, noting that Iran had "sponsored terrorist attacks on Australian soil".
— With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
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